One of the things that quite often defeats Christians in their daily life is, they spend too much of their time focusing on their past life. This is especially true if they have a past in which they rebelled against God as a Christian, or if they lived what people would call a rebellious life before they came to know Jesus Christ.
But, let us look in the Bible at the life of Paul. Now, before Paul became a Christian, he was one who killed and persecuted Christians. In Acts chapter 7, we find the story of Stephen being stoned to death for preaching the Gospel. And what do we read in verse 58? – “When they had driven him out of the city, they began stoning him; and the witnesses laid aside their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul.” This was Saul who’s name was changed to Paul after he came to know Jesus Christ.
Saul was responsible for the death and persecution of lots of people early in his life. I’m sure if Paul had spent his time dwelling on his past – he would have found himself in deep dispair. However, what does Paul write in Philippians, “forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14) Paul knew that there was NOTHING he could do to change the past. However, his life NOW belonged to Jesus Christ and his focus was on pleasing Him and winning the race that he was now running.
Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” When we come to know Jesus Christ and confess and repent of our sins – God forgives ALL of our sins. He wipes the slate clean and remembers our past no more. Now, obviously we still face consequences of things done wrong in our past. For instance, if we wasted our resources and reputation we still have to live with those consequences. HOWEVER – with God leading us and giving us strength, we can change that reputation and make it good.
When Paul first came to Jerusalem after coming to know Jesus Christ, many of the Jewish believers were afraid of him because of his past reputation. But, when they saw the way he NOW lived and acted, they soon recognized that his life had been changed. I’m sure it probably took some people a long time before they would completely trust him, but he didn’t allow that to stop him from doing what was right.
We CANNOT do a SINGLE THING about what was done yesterday, last month, last year, or 10 years ago. HOWEVER, we CAN do something about our future by making the RIGHT choices and living to please and honor Jesus Christ TODAY!!
1 John 1:9 tells us, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness.”
Paul wrote in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” And if we have come to know Jesus Christ as our Saviour, and have confessed, repented of, and forsaken our sin – surrendering our life to HIS control, like Paul we can say, “The life I NOW live…I live by FAITH in the Son of God!” Keeping our eyes focused on Him, we can now live in victory. VICTORY over our past because it should NO LONGER destroy our lives.
Yes, Paul too had a past I’m sure he regretted at times, but THROUGH JESUS CHRIST he was able to say, “I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Timothy 1:12-17)
Too many Christians are hindered by regrets and their past life. It’s like they are trying to run the race of the Christian life backwards, or always looking over their shoulder. YOU CANNOT SUCCESSFULLY RUN A RACE LOOKING BACKWARDS! “FORGETTING what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14) We CANNOT change the past, we can only CHANGE TOMORROW by FOCUSING ON JESUS CHRIST and PLEASING HIM!